Coin operated ticket vending machine



V. ASEC'T COIN OPERATED TICKET VENDING MACHINE Filed. NOV. 29, 1951 I NV EN TOR. E/ber M Abbott April 17, 1956 E. v. ABBOTT 2,742,338

COIN OPERATED TICKET VENDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, 1951 2Sheets--Shee'rI 2 :EIS-. 1

INVENTOR. Elbert l/. Abbott BY 1gb/VM MM United States Patent coINoPERATED TICKET VENDING MACHINE Elbert v. Abbott, san Francisco, entr.Application November 279, 1951, Serial No. 258,858

l s claims. (ci. 312-39) This invention relates to vending machines, andmore particularly to improvements in coin operated ticket vendingmachines. f

vAn object of the invention is to provide a coin operated ticket vendingmachine adapted to feed a ticket web to a point where the end ticketthereof is caused to protrude from the machine in a position where itmay be torn free of the web by the vendee, with said machine embodyingmeans insuring that but one ticket may be procured by a vendee for asingle coin inserted in the machine. A

A further object of the invention is to provide a highly etlcient andeconomical coin operated ticket vending machine. i

These and other objects and advantages ofthe inventionf willbe apparentfrom" the following description taken in conjunction with the drawingsforming part of this specication, and in which:

VFigure 1 is a view inside elevation 'of theoperating mechanism of thevending machine before coin operation of the machine, i. e., with thecoin slide in the outermost position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure l, the side wall of themachine housing being similarly removed, but showing the elements of thevending machine mechanism in their operating position when the coinslide is in its vinnermost position;

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the vending machine mechanism in theoperating condition corresponding Vto that of Figure l, with the top ofthe machine housing being removed for this purpose;

Figure 4 is a detail view of the operating mechanism of the machinetaken along lines 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a detail view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a detail view taken along Figure 3; n

Figure 7 is a detail view similar to Figure 5 with the parts of themachine shown in a diierent position; and

Figure 8V is a view in section taken along lines 8-8 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, the vending machine is provided with ahousing indicated generally at 16 having a front wall 12 and abottomwall 14 secured to a mounting post 16. A pair of spaced carrier platesV18 and 20 secured together by spacer bars 22 are supported within thehousing, as by bolts 24 extending through spacer bars 22 and insecuredrelation therewith. p Journalled for rotation in carrier plates 18 and28 is a shaft 26 having secured thereto in spaced relation wheels 28 andSil, each of which is provided on its periphery with a plurality ofspaced teeth 32 adapted to be engaged with spaced marginal apertures34'in a ticket web 36 having transversely extending perforations 38dening individual tickets.

As is indicated in Figuresv 1 and 2 the ticket web 36 is carried freelyon the bottom wall 14 of the housing, with the interconnected ticketsbeing arranged in alterlines 6 6 ef nately disposed stacked relation. Asthe toothed wheels 28 and 30 are rotated in a clockwise direction, theticket web is moved over an arcuate baile plate 40 and beneath a plate42 to protrude from a ticket dispensing slot 44 formed in the front wall12 ofthe housing. Bale plate 40 is secured to rod 46 carried betweenplates 18 and 20 and is secured at. itsfupper and forward end to plates18 and 2i) by suitable means, not shown. Plate 42 is connected by hinge48 to the upper edge of plate 20, and the opposite end of said plate isretained against the upper edge of plate 18 by a spring clamp 50 securedto the outer face of plate 13. Forced ilexure Vof spring 50 to bring itout of engagement with pivotally mounted plate 42 enables the plate tobe pivoted upwardly about the hinged joint 48 so that the apertures 34of the ticket web may be engaged with teeth 32 of wheels 28 and 30. Baieplate 40 and plate 42 areprovided with aligned slots through which theteeth 32 of the wheels 28 and 38 extend. v

The coin slide actuated mechanism hereinafter described is adapted topositively drive wheels 28 and 30 for a predetermined distance in aclockwise direction for each operation of the mechanism to cause asingle ticket section of ticket web 36 to protrude through slot 44, asindicated at 52 in Figure 2, and the control mechanism embodies meansrendering the machine tamper-proof in the sense that under no conditionsof operation of the mechanism can more than one ticket section percoinbe obtained by the vendee, or operator of the machine.`

The driving mechanism for wheels 28 and 30 com prises a lever 54pivotally mounted on stubshaft 56 which is carried by plate 18, saidlever 54 being pro` vided .at one end with a toothed sector 58 which isin mesh with gear wheel 64) sleeved on shaft 26, and being provided atits other end with a depending arm 62 normally held against stop member64 extending outwardly from plate 18 by a spring 66 connected at one endto` arm 62 and connected at its other end to pin 68 carried by plate 18.Fixedly secured to the outer face of gear'f wheel 60 is an arm 70 whichhas pivotally secured to the outer end thereof by pin 72 a pawl 74. Aratchet wheel 76 having a plurality of spaced teeth 78 is Iixedlysecured to shaft 26, as by key`80, in alignment with pawl 74.

A coin slide 82 slideably disposed within carrier member 84, havingintegral therewith an escutcheon plate 86 secured to wall 12 of thehousing, serves as the control element for the operating mechanism. Asthe coin slide 82 is moved from its outermost position, as indicatedlinFigure l, to itsV innermost position, as indicated in Fig# ure 2, theinnerV end of the slide engages arm 62 of lever 54 and forces said armoutwardly away from the stop member 64 to load the spring 66 andpivotthe toothed t sector 58 downwardly. This movement of the toothedsector in engagement with gear wheel 60 rotates the gear wheel in acounterclockwisev direction to Amove arm and pawl 74 to the positionshown in Figure 2 where the pawl is engaged in driving relation with atooth 78 of ratchet wheel 76.

In the absence of further control elements, it will bel clear that ifthe manual force applied to the coin slide 82 t were released when thecoin slide is in its innermost position, the spring 66 would return arm62 into engagement with stop 64 and thus cause counterclockwise'rotationi of lever 54 and its toothed sector 58 to drive gear wheel 60, arm 70,pawl 74 and ratchet wheel 76 in a clockwise direction to impart similarmovement to shaft 26 and ticket web drive wheels 28 and 30. Means areprovided, however, to delay the operation of the mechanism until thecoin slide 82 has been moved `outwardly a predeter` mined distance, saidmeans comprising a ratchet wheel 88 ixedly secured to shaft 26, as bykey 90, and a trigger i lever 92 pivotally mounted on pin 94 carried byplate 18.

y Patented Appia-s e. y Y I Y 2,742,388

' thereto;`V When the coin slide has been moved to 'its innermostposition, as indicated in Figure 2, to cause the pawl 74 to be moved toits driving position, initial return movement of the slide will causelever arm 54 and its toothed.V sector SV to be moved a slight degree ina counterclockwise direction under the influence of spring The mechanismfurther` embodies anti-rotation means for the shaft 2 6 to prevent anyreverse, or friction-induced, rotation of the same while gear wheel 60is being rotated on the shaft to bring. pawl .74 into position fordriving ratchet wheel 76. The anti-reverse rotation means ,comprises alever Yarrn 112 pivotally'mounted on pin 114 carried by plate 18 andhaving its free end urged by spring means 116, connected at one end tolever 112 andrat the other end to plate 18, into engagement with 66 todrive shaft 26 for a slight distance in a clockwise direction toV causetooth 102 of Wheel S8 to be brought into engagement with dog '96.- Afterlimited movement of'shaft-26,'further'movement is prevented by 'thetrigger lever 92 until the coin slide is thereafter returned to aposition in which a laterally extending striker plate 104 carried bythe' slide engages extension 9S of lever 92 toV pivot lever 92 in acounterclockwise direction and thereby trigger the ticket dispensingmechanism i'n the manner described.

lt will be appreciated that Vwith the mechanism thus far described itwould be possible for a vendee to obtain any number of tickets hedesired for the single coin used to operate the mechanism so as toextend one ticket ofthe web through the slot 44. Thereafter, the strikerplate 104 of the coin slide 82 could be maintained in engagement witharm 98 of lever 92 to maintain dog 96 out of the'rpath of teeth 102 ofthe ratchet wheelV 88; The ticket web could then be' freely drawnthrough slot 44. In' order to prevent this, locking means, hereinafterdescribed, are provided to positively limit the tickets dispensed fromthe machine to one ticket per operating .coin used; v

This one ticket limit means comprises a lever 106 pivotally mounted onpin 94v and urged byl spring 100 in a counterclockwise direction toengage ratchet wheel 8S. 'When dog 96 of lever 92 is out'of engagementwithV wheel 88, a hook 108 at the end of leverV arm 106 engages a'.toothv 102 of wheel 88 to prevent ticket delivery movement of shaft 26.After a coin has been deposited in the slide 82 andthe slide is movedinwardly toward the innermost position shownin Figure 2, arm 106 ispivotedinY a clockwise direction by striker plate 104 to move the hookedend 108 of the lever arm out of the path of'teeth Y102v of wheel 83'.The angular relation` of arm' 62 toV coin slide 82 is such in relationto the angular position of lever arm` 106 with respect to coin slide 82,

when the coin kslide is in theinnermost position of Figure 2, that theinitial return movement of slide 82' to allow the slight rotation' ofshaft 26 to bring a tooth 102 of wheell 88- into engagement with dog 96of lever arm 92 Atakes'place'before the hooked end 108 of lever arm 106is moved by spring 100 into the path of the adjacent tooth 102, and thuswhen a tooth 102 contacts dog 96, the tooth 102 which is adjacent hookedend 108 hasimovedfp'ast this hooked end, as indicated in Figure 7. Thus,when arm 106 has been pivoted in a counterclockwise direction to bringits'hooke'd end into engagement'with wheel S8, thehooked end 108 is inposition toenableV a Vsingle ticket operation of wheel 88, buttoprevent' free hub 118 of ratchet wheel 88. f Pins 120 carried by ratchetwheel 88 adjacent the teeth1 102 thereof are so arranged `that one ofthem engages the end of lever 112 when the ratchet wheel is in thepositiongof Figures l, 2 and 5. This engagement between apin 120 andtheend of lever 112 prevents reverse rotation of wheel '88 and shaft 26while lever arm 54 is being pivoted in a clockwise direction to rotategear in a counterclockwise direction. When the mechanism is triggered bycounterclockwise rotation of lever 92, lever arm 112 is pivoted upwardlyby movement therepast-of the pin 120 next in order, and, at the sametime that arm 62 strikes stop 64 and the hooked end 108 of lever arrn106 engages a tooth 102 of wheel.88, the lever arm 112 drops behind thepin 120 associated therewith in anti-reverse rotation position. From theforegoing, it will be seen that I have provided a coin operated ticketdispensing mechanism well adapted for the attainment of the objectshereinabove set forth, andl While a preferred embodiment of theinvention has been shown and described it is to be understood that allsubstantial equivalents of said embodiment are within the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:l l

l. Ticket dispensing apparatus comprising a housing, a pair of spacedparallel plates supported within said housing, a shaft journalled forrotation in said plates and having an extension of substantial length atthe outer side of one of said plates, means mounted on said shaftbetween said plates adapted to feed an integral portion of ia ticket webthrough a dispensing aperture in said housing upon rotation of saidshaft in one direction7 and means associatedV with said shaft extensionoperable to rotate said shaft inrpredetermined increments of movement insaid one direction comprising: a coin slide extending into said housingbeneath said shaft extension and mounted for reciprocal sliding movementnormal to the axis of said shaft; a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft;a gear wheeltsleeved on the shaft; an arm secured to a face of said gearwheel adjacent said ratchet wheel and extending beyond the periphery ofsaid ratchet wheel; a pawl pivotally mounted on the end of said arm inaligned relation to saidV ratchet wheel; a lever pivotally mounted onsaid one platehaving a toothedsector atone end in mesh with operationof" the machine thereafter. Thus, the cooperat jtive relationshipbetween lever arms 92 Vand V106/ and Y coin slide 8'2'issuch that theend stroke movement and V92`,whileA the triggering of lever 92` at the'end of the return stroke of slide-82enablesV spring 66 to operate thedispensing mechanismV to return it, after one .increment of-movement,.to the locking control of lever 106,A

said gear wheel and having a dependent arm at its other endextending-into the path of movement of said slide; a spring connectingsaid dependent arm to said one plate adapted to bev loaded by inwardmovement of said slide in engagement with said dependent arm to bringsaid pawl into driving engagement with said ratchet Wheel; a secondratchet wheel secured to the shaftj a lever pivotally carriedby Vsaidone plate having'a dog at one end, said` lever extending into the pathof a laterally extending strikerplate carriedzby said slide; yand meansbiasing the dog end of said lever into blocking relation with a tooth ofsaidsecond ratchet wheel; said holding lever adapted to be tripped outof blocking relation with said tooth by moving contact therewith of saidstriker plate during outward'm'ovement of saidV slide to enable saidshaft to be rotated by said spring through the recited meansconnecting'said spring' to said shaft.

2. Ticket' dispensing'apparatus as set forth in claim l comprising,further, means'to prevent' said'sh'aft from-being` manually rotated todispense further integral portions of said ticket web through saidaperture without a further reciprocalv movement of said slide, saidmeans consisting of a se'coruzll lever pivotally mounted on saidVratchet wheel past the end of said lever,` said holding lever havingits dog slightly spaced apartfrom another tooth on said second wheelwhen said second lever is in locking relation to said wheel, therebyenabling said limited springurged rotation of said shaft.

3.`In combination, a shaft, means mountingthe same for rotation, drivingmeans connected to said shaft for imparting a rotational torque thereto,a ratchet Wheel secured to said shaft having a plurality of equi-spacedteeth, and control means forl said`shaft operable to enable ,saiddriving means to` intermittently rotate said shaft through a rotationalangle equal to that dened between successive teeth of said wheel, saidcontrol meansconsisting of: a first lever pivotally mounted and biasedto maintain an end portion thereof in locking engagement with a tooth ofsaid wheel; a second lever pivotally mounted and biased to maintain anend portion thereof in slightly spaced relation to a succeeding tooth ofsaid wheel but within the path of movementof said tooth; a reciprocallymovable element extending between the free ends of said levers operableduring movement in one direction to yieldingly pivot said rst lever outof locking engagement with said wheel and operable during movement inthe opposite direction to ,yieldingly pivot said second lever out of thepath of movement of the ratchet wheel tooth associated therewith; saiddriving means be-` ing responsive to initial movement of said element insaid opposite direcionto rotate said shaft to bring said succeedingtooth of the ratchet wheel into engagement with the end portion of saidsecond lever and to move the ratchet wheel tooth associated with saidirst lever out of position to be re-engaged by said lever, whereby vsaiddriving means is conditioned to rotate said shaft when said second leveris yieldingly pivoted by saidmovable element.

4, In combination, a shaft, means mounting the same for rotation,driving means connected to said shaft for imparting a rotational torquethereto, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft having a plurality ofequi-spaced teeth, and control means for said shaft operable to enablesaid driving means to intermittently `rotate said shaft through arotational angle equal to that defined between successive teeth of saidwheel, said control means consisting of: a firstlever pivotally mountedand biased to maintain an end portion thereof in locking engagement witha tooth of said wheel; a second lever pivotally mounted and biased tomaintain an end portion thereof in slightly spaced relation to asucceeding tooth of Asaid wheel but within the path of movement of saidtooth; a reciprocally movable elementextending between the free ends ofsaid levers operable during movement in one direcv tion to yieldinglypivot said first lever out of locking engagement with said wheel; meansassociated with said driving means operable to enable said driving meansto limitedly rotate said shaft while said first lever is out of lockingengagement with said wheel to move said succeeding tooth of the wheelinto engagement with the end L portion of said second lever andzto movethe ratchet wheel tooth associated with said rst lever out of positionVto. y

be re-engaged by said lever; said reciprocally movable l element beingthereafter operable during movement in the opposite direction toyieldingly pivot said second lever a shaft mounted for rotation, adriver ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a control element mountedfor reciprocal sliding movement in spaced relation to said shaft andnormal to the axis of said shaft, a pawl rotatably mounted on said shaftin association with said ratchet wheel, lever means connected to said`pawl operable during movement in one direction of said element totranslate linear movement of said element to rotative movement of saidpawl relative to said ratchet wheel to drivably engage said pawl andwheel, spring means vfor said lever means operable through said levermeans to drive said pawl in engagement with said ratchet wheel, acontrol ratchet wheel secured to said shaft in reverse relation to saiddriver ratchet wheel, a rst lever pivotally mountedradjacent saidshaftand having a dog at one end, said lever beingbiased to engage said dogwith said control ratchet wheel in blocking relation to a tooth thereof,said lever being adapted to be tripped during movement of said elementin the opposite direction to move said dog out of the path of said toothto free said shaft for rotation by said spring means, and a second leverpivotally mounted adjacent said shaft having one end thereof biased intoone way locking engagement with said control ratchet wheel and havingits other end extending across the path of movement of said elementadjacent the end of the stroke of movement thereof in said onedirection, said second lever being movable out of locking engagementwith said wheel by movement of said element in engagement therewith.

References Cited iu the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 462,284Strobel et al Nov.4 3, 1891 765,861 Smith n July 26, 1904 897,217 Mayoet al Aug. 25, 1908 923,245 `Chase .Tune 1, 1909 977,418 McEachron Nov.29, 1910 1,010,966 Sielat` Dec. 5, 1911 ,Y 2,187,232 Garner Jan. 16,1940

